WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Missouri State University-West Plains recently received a third $10,000 Tree Resource Improvement and Maintenance (TRIM) Grant from the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) to aid in assessing, maintaining and renewing the urban forest in and around campus, university officials announced.
The university received $10,000 TRIM awards in fall 2008 and fall 2010.
The TRIM Grant is a competitive, cost-sharing program administered by MDC in cooperation with the Misssouri Community Forest Council which provides reimbursement of $1,000 to $10,000 to assist government agencies, public schools and non-profit groups with the management, improvement or conservation of trees on public lands, university officials explained.
The 2008 award was primarily used to inventory and survey the campus tree population to identify hazardous and potentially hazardous trees for removal and pruning. Utilizing the information gathered from the tree inventory, the money received in 2010 was used to abate hazardous trees, prune trees for proper structure and plant new trees to enhance property expansion, officials said. This year’s grant money will be used to continue tree maintenance across the campus by pruning, planting and removal of some trees, officials said.
A portion of the grant money also will be used to provide aboriculture information at the Garnett Library for use by students, faculty, staff and the community, as well as International Society of Aboriculture (ISA) certification materials for staff, officials said. In addition, grant money will be used to continue an Arbor Day program on campus to build awareness among faculty, staff and students, they added.
For more information about the university’s tree management program, contact Physical Plant Superintendent Ron Hensley at 417-255-7268.